Singer Amy Winehouse

•January 1, 1970

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The Yorkshire Dales village saved by scarecrows

The residents of ­Kettlewell have put Donald Trump in the stocks. Not the president himself but, perhaps fittingly, a straw-man version. He is one of 100 scarecrows on display around this pretty village in the Yorkshire Dales this past week. The Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival is said to be the biggest of its kind in the country – more than 15,000 people will have travelled from around the UK to ­admire the locals’ handiwork – all 350 villagers work for months to ­ensure each year is a triumph. Without the school, Kettlewell would become a village of retirement and holiday homesMaggie Walker The real success, though, is how it has changed the fortunes of ­Kettlewell. While many of Britain’s rural communities face shrinking services and an exodus of the young, Kettlewell has bucked the trend. The village has three pubs, a post office, a shop, a school, a youth hostel and a very lively village hall. And it is the money raised from the annual scarecrow festival that has ensured their continued survival. Nicky Fairweather moved to the ­village four years ago because there was a school for her son Jake, seven, to attend (it will have 31 pupils this ­September). Outside their front door is a medieval crusader, which Nicky made at a workshop a few weeks ago in the ­village hall, bonding with other locals while stuffing hay into tights and coming up with wildly creative concepts – woolly mammoth, anyone? Donald Trump in the stocks in the centre of Kettlewell Credit: Charlotte Graham “Everyone has to come together to make it a success,” says Nicky, 45. “Financially, it’s been very important because it’s a fragile situation – if you lose the school, you lose families, while others won’t want to move to the village.” The first festival took place in 1994 after a villager attended a similar event in France. Now, around 400 drivers pay £3 for parking in a local field and roughly 50 coaches wind up the road for one mad August week. Last year the festival raised £8,000 each for the school, the village hall and the church, leaving a few thousand for other community projects, such as the toddler group and cricket team. A caveman and a woolly mammoth on the trail Credit: Charlotte Graham This year has two themed trails for visitors to follow; historical eras for the children, and rock and pop stars for the adults (straw likenesses of Freddie Mercury and Amy Winehouse being particularly fine examples). Outside the vicarage, the Rev James Theodosius, ­apparently a dab hand at the guitar himself, has created a Ziggy Stardust tableaux, complete with sound system. One good thing is we don’t have to have so many coffee mornings to keep things goingSue Nelson The residents of one road, off the main trail, have created a theme of their own, based on Charlie and the ­Chocolate Factory, while straw squirrels surround the post office and youth hostel. “There’s a lot of healthy competition,” says Maggie Walker, a festival committee member. “And a lot of pressure to make each year better than the last.” Although her own children flew the nest years ago, Maggie dreads the idea of public services ­disappearing through lack of funds. “Without the school, Kettlewell would become a village of retirement and holiday homes,” she says. “I don’t want to live in a retirement village. I like ­having friends Nicky’s age.” The residents’ straw-powered community spirit has seen them weather plenty of challenges, such as when the council stopped their bus service 18 months ago. The solution? They started their own. Up at St Mary’s Church, there is a straw baptism taking place, a straw wedding and even a straw funeral party. What the children love the most, though, is a straw skeleton escaping from a grave. A straw funeral party at St Mary's Credit: Charlotte Graham “We’ve had a few inappropriate ones over the years,” says Maggie, with a wicked twinkle. There was a phase when some villagers would put the scarecrows in naughty poses. In the village hall, the vicar’s wife, Mo Theodosius, is working flat out with other villagers, serving tea, cakes, sandwiches and quiches to a snaking queue of festival-goers. Sue Nelson bakes dozens of cakes in the run-up to the week, commandeering freezers around the village. Each night she bakes 24 buns. “It’s hard work but the camaraderie is very good,” says the 69-year-old. Children busily clear tables. The ­festival hasn’t just ensured the financial future of the village, but brought generations together. A villager for 42 years, Sue remembers what Kettlewell was like before its festival fame. “One good thing is we don’t have to have so many coffee mornings to keep things going. We couldn’t afford it!” she jokes. But, she adds seriously, “if we want the village to thrive, we’ve got no choice but to be proactive and help ourselves.” kettlewellscarecrowfestival.co.uk

A British coroner ruled on Oct. 26 that singer Amy Winehouse died of "accidental alcohol poisoning." Winehouse was found dead in her London home on July 23, 2011.